lour

USLOW-ur/ˈlaʊɚ/UKLOW-uh/ˈlaʊə/

Noun plurallours

4 meanings of lour

1
verbfigurativelyintransitive
Of the sky or clouds, to look dark and threatening before a storm.
Like the sky turning dark and angry just before it rains.
Dark clouds lour over the valley whenever a storm is near.
By midday the sky had loured and rain seemed certain.
Similardarken, threaten, loom, glower, menace
Oppositeclear, brighten
2
verbintransitive
To frown and look angry or unhappy.
Like making an angry face when you do not get your way.
He began to lour whenever anyone mentioned his brother.
She loured at the messy room and said nothing.
Similarscowl, glower
Oppositesmile, beam
3
nounfigurativelycountable
A dark and threatening look in the sky before bad weather.
Like the dark, angry sky you see before a big storm.
A heavy lour hung over the valley all afternoon.
The lour of the clouds warned us to head home.
Similargloom, gloominess
4
nouncountable
A frown or angry look on someone's face.
Like the grumpy face someone makes when they are upset.
A deep lour crossed his face when he heard the news.
She greeted us with a lour and folded her arms.
Similarfrown, scowl, glower, glare
Oppositesmile, grin

Practice

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Origin

The verb comes from Middle English louren, meaning to frown, scowl, or be dark and gloomy. It probably came from Old English and is related to the word 'lurk'. The noun comes from the verb.